Film cutting device



Jan. 19, 1965 E. WALTZ 3,166,224

FILM CUTTING DEVICE Filed July 9, 1962 INV EN TOR. EDWARD WA LTZ WM M /g ATTORNEYS United States Patent ()7 This invention relates in general to an apparatus having structure for supporting a roll of sheet material and having a cutting device whereby a piece of the sheet material can be severed from the roll thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a cutting device which is particularly adapted for cutting plastic film so that the cut end on the roll of film can be easily grasped manually after each cutting operation.

Apparatuses for supporting and cutting pieces of sheet material from a roll thereof have been in existence for many years. Attempts have been made to convert such existing devices for use with plastic films of the type which are used to Wrap food and the like. Although some of these efforts have resulted in reasonably serviceable devices, they have not been entirely satisfactory. For example, it is not uncommon for the outer end of the strip of .film, especially a thin film, due to its cohesive qualities, to move back through existing cutters onto the roll and thereafter become very difficult to locate, to disengage from the roll and to thread back through the cutting device.

The problem of manually grasping the outer end of the sheet material in order to pull it away from the roll before a cutting operation is performed thereon, has remained especially difficult where thin plastic films are involved. Existing cutting devices, of the type disclosed herein, are arranged so that the outer, cut end of the film is adjacent to the cutting edge of the device or is resting upon a support member of some kind after the cutting operation is completed. Accordingly, the operator of the cutting device must grasp the film end and lift it away from either the support member or the cutting edge or both. Usually, this is accomplished with the finger tips, so that it can be dangerous because of the sharpness of the cutting edge. Moreover, it is also difficult to grasp the film, due to the adhesion of the film to its support member, and'it often results in contamination of the support member and the cutting edge. Although such contamination may not be serious from a health standpoint, it does tend to accelerate the rusting or corrosion of the parts and also seems to aggravate the adhesion problem.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provision of an improved apparatus including a device for cutting pieces of film from a roll thereof, wherein said device includes structure for positively opposing movement of the free end of the film back onto the roll from which it has been removed, and wherein said free end of the film is automatically moved, after a cutting operation is performed thereon, into a position where it can be easily and manually grasped not only without contacting a portion of the cutting device but also without exposing the fingers of the operator to the cutting edge on the device.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a cutting device, as aforesaid, which is simple in construction, which is very easy to operate, which can be manufactured inexpensively, which requires little or no maintenance, which can be mounted upon a conventional standard for supporting a roll of the film Without materially increasing the size or weight of the standard and without adversely affecting its appearance. 7

Gther objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equip- 3,165,224 Patented Jan. 19,1955

ice

ment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a broken, fragmentary front elevational view of a film supporting and cutting apparatus embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a broken sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIGURE 1 and showing a part thereof in a difierent position.

FIGURE 3 is a broken sectional view taken along the line III]1I in FIGURE 2 and rotated degrees counterclockwise.

FIGURE 4 is a broken sectional view taken along the line 11-11 in FIGURE 1.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and words of similar import will have reference to the apparatus of the invention, and parts thereof, as appearing in FIGURE 1. The terms front and rear 'will have reference respectively to the right and left sides of the apparatus as appearing in FIGURES 3 and 4. The terms inner and outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of the cutting device of the invention and parts associated therewith.

General description The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing an apparatus including a standard having structure for supporting a roll of sheet material, such as plastic film, and a cutting device mounted upon said standard for severing a piece of said material from the roll thereof. The cutting device includes a pair of spaced; brackets, which are secured to the standard, anda cutting bar which is secured to and extends between said brackets. A pivoted and counterweighted member is mounted upon and between said brackets for movement around an axis parallel with and spaced from said cutting bar. The stripe-f plastic film is threaded from the roll through the pivot member and acros the upwardly extending, cutting edge of the cutting bar. By pulling the free end of said film frontwardly, the pivot member is moved against the counterweight to a position adjacent the cutting bar and the strip of material can be severed by pulling downwardly thereof. As soon as the severing has been completed, the pivot member responds to the counterweight and automatically moves the free end of the material upwardly away from the cutting bar. Structure is provided on the pivot memher for holding the strip of film against reverse move ment back onto the roll.

, Detailed construction The cutting device 19 (FIGURES 1 and 2) which has been selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, is mounted upon a standard 11 capable of supporting a roll 12 of sheet material, such as plastic film 13.

The standard 11 (FIGURES 1 and 2) which may be of the side elements 16 and 17. A tie bar 23 is secured to and extends between the foot members 21 and 22. The frame 15, foot members 21 and 22 and the tie bar 23 are all preferably fabricated from metal and may be secured together by conventional means, such as .the screws 24.

A pair of shaft supports 26 and 27 (FIGURES l and 2) 6,1 a u v g are rigidly secured to the opposing surfaces of the side elements 16 and 17, respectively, approximately. midway between the upper and lower ends thereof. The shaft support 26, for example, is comprised of a plate 28, which.

is secured to the inner surface of the side element 16, between the flanges 29 and 30 thereof, by means of the screws 33.. An upwardly opening, U-shaped hanger 34 is rigidly secured to the plate 28 for slidable reception of an end of the shaft 36 which extends through and supports the roll 12 of sheet material. The shaft support 27 includes a plate28a and hanger 34a.which are supported upon the side elementl7 between the flanges 29a and Stla in substantially the same manner as described above with respect to the shaft support 26. The flanges 29 and 29a are provided with notches 37 and 37a, respectively, adjacent to the hangers 34 and 34a so that the shaft 36, with a roll 12. thereon, can be moved into position between the side elements 16 and 17 for support upon the shaft supports 26 and 27 This is made necessary by the fact that the perpendicular distance between the flanges 29 and 29a, adjacent the shaft supports 26 and 27, is preferably less than the lengthwise extent of the shaft 36.

The cutting device it) (FIGURE 2) includes a pair of similar end brackets 41 and 42 which are substantially flat and which have integral, oflset mounting plates 43 and 44, respectively. The mounting plates 43 and 44 are rigidly secured to the opposing surfaces of the side elements 16 and 17 by the screws 46 near to but spaced from the connecting element 13. The endtbrackets 41 and 42 project frontwardly from the side elements 16 and 17, respectively, and they are rigidly secured near their frontward ends to the opposite ends of an elongated and substantially rigid cutting blade support 47. In this particular embodiment, the blade support 47 has an Lshaped cross section with a substantially horizontal flange 48 and a substantially vertical flange 49, which extends downwardly from the front edge of the flange 48. End portions of the horizontal flange 48 are bent downwardly, as shown at 52 in FIGURE 3, for securement to each of the end brackets 41 and 42 by a nut and bolt 53. A blade 54, having an upwardly projecting cutting edge 56, is mounted upon the front. side of the vertical flange 49 so that said cutting edge is slightly above the upper surface of the horizontal flange 48 and preferably substantially parallel with the lengthwise extent of the connecting element 18. The blade 54 may be adjustably mounted upon the blade support 47, and the blade support 47 may be adjustably secured to the end brackets Q1 and 42.

A shaft 57 (FIGURE 2) has end portions 58 and 59 of reduced diameter which are rotatably received through appropriate openings in the end brackets 41 and 42 adjacent the flanges 29 and 29a, so that, in this embodiment, the upper surface of the shaft 57 is in substantially the same horizontal plane as the upper surface of the horizontal flange 48.

A pivot member 62 (FIGURES 2, 3 and 4) is pivotally supported upon the shaft 57 between the end brackets 41 and 42. More specifically, the pivot member 62 includes a pair of substantially L-shaped end bars 63 and 6d having arms66, 67 and 66a, 6701, respectively. The bars 63 and 64 have openings at the junctions of their respective arms through which'the reduced end portions 58 and 59 7 of the shaft 57 are slidably and rotatably received. The

front arms 67 and 67a of the end bars 63 and 64 are rigidly secured, as by welding, to the opposite ends of an elongated brace member 68 having an L-shaped cross section. One flange 69 of the brace memberd is parallel with and adjacent to a plane defined by the upper edges of the front arms 67 "and 67a. The other flange 70 of the brace member 68 extends downwardly from the horizontal flange 69. An elongated and flat guide plate '73 (FIGURES 3 and 4) is rigidly secured, as by welding,

eases to-the upper surface of the flange 69 and to the upper edges of the front arms 67 and 67a so that the rearward edge 74 of the'guide plate 73 is parallel with and spaced a short 'mately one-half inch in this embodiment. 10'

' other.

distance from the surface of the shaft 57.- Thefront edge portion 76 of the guideplate 73 extends beyond the front arms 67 and 67a and is engageable with the upper surface 'of the horizontal flange48 on the blade support-47 when said guide plate 73 is in asubstantiallyhorizontal position, as appearing in FIGURE ,3. In such horizontal position, the front edge 76 of the guide plate 73 is spaced from the cutting edge 56 of the blade 54 a distance of approxi- However, it will be recognized that the spacing between the plate '73 and cutting edge as, when said plate is in the horizontal position, may .be varied to suit the particular needs. A pair of resiliently flexible bumpers 77 and '78 (FIG- URE 2) are mounted upon the opposing surfaces of the end brackets 41 and 42 so that they project toward each Said bumpers 77 and 78 are preferably located above and slightly frontwardly of the axis of the shaft 57 so that they are engageable by the guide plate 73 when it is in its raised or at rest position as appearing in FIG- URE 4.

A pivot plate 81 (FIGURES 2 and 3), which is preferably flat and rectangular in shape, is secured near the opposite ends of one edge thereof to a pair of coaxial pivot pins 82 and 83 (FIGURE 2) which are slidably and rotatably disposed in axially aligned openings (one of which is shown at 8t) in FIGURE 3) through the rear arms 65 and 66a of the bars as and 64, respectively, near the rearward ends thereof. The front edge portion 84 of the pivot plate 81 is movable around the axis of the pivot pins 82 and 83 into and out of a position of engagement with the upper surface of the shaft 57 near the plate '73. The pivot plate 81 and the guide plate 73 are care- FIGURE 3 position. Accordingly,the pivot member 62 will be held in its FIGURE 3 position during a severing operation up until just before the film has been completely severed by the cutting edge 56.

Operation The roll 12 of film 13 is mounted upon the shaft 36 in a substantially conventional manner so that the roll is free a to rotate around the axis of the shaft 35. The ends of the shaft 36 are cradled within the hangers 34 and 3dr: (FIG- URE 2), and the outer end of the film 13 is threaded between the shaft 57 and the pivot plate 81, and thence over the upper surface of the guide plate 73.. The film 13 may be of any convenient width and of any conventional type, such as Saran. The counterbalance effect of the plate 81 will normally cause the pivot member 62 to assume its FIGURE 4 position,wherein the front edge 7 6 of the guide plate 73 is spaced upwardly from the blade support 47 and, therefore, from the cutting edge 56 of the blade 54. Thus, the end 86 of the film 13, which extends beyond the edge 76 of the plate 73 can be manually grasped with ease and without endangering the hands of the operator.

When it becomes desirable'to remove a piece of the film 13 from the roll 12 thereof, the free end 86 of the film 13 is manually grasped and pulled frontwardly away from the cutting device It until slightly. more than the desired amount of film is forward of the front edge 76 of the plate 73. The end portion of the film 13 is now rged downwardly with respect to the blade 5-.- so that it overcomes the counterbalancing effect of the plate 81 and rotates the member 62 againstthe blade support 47.

Simultaneously, the film engages and is severed by the cutting edge 55. Normally, the severing will be initiated at one edge of the film and will then progress lengthwise along the cutting edge 56 until the severance is completed. j

The pivoted member 62 can be balanced as desired,

but is preferably arranged so that it will be held in its FIGURE 3 position by the film until just before the severing operation is completed. That is only a very small portion of the films entire vw'dth, such as an eighth of an inch, can hold the guide plate 73 down. Thus, the film 13 is cut by the edge 56 and is not torn by upward movement of said plate 73.

Upon completion of the cutting operatiomthe pivot member 62 will automatically return from its FIGURE 3 position into its FIGURE 4 position with the end portion of the film extending beyond the front edge 76 of the guide plate 73. The film 13 is prevented from backing up through the pivot member 62 onto the roll 12 by the pivot plate 31 which presses said film, by the urging of gravity, against the peripheral surface of the shaft .57. Thus, the free end of the film 13 will be readily accessible after a severing operation for easy, manual engagement to initiate another unrolling and severing operation. Moreover, the free end of the film, as appearing in FIGURE 4, will always be spaced a substantial distance from the cutting edge 55 when it is manually engaged so that there is little or no chance for the operator to cut his hand during the film engaging, unrolling and severing operation. Moreover, the film will, when it is engaged, be covering the entire upper surface of the guide plate 73 so that said surface cannot be contaminated by the hands of the operator.

Under some circumstances, it may be desirable to connect the plates 28 and 28a of the shaft supports an and 2'7, respectively, to the mounting plates 43 and 44 of the end brackets 41 and 42, to simplify assembly procedures. In such case, the roll-supporting function and film-severing function would be performed by parts of a single assembly.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which come within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. A structure for supporting a roll of sheet material and for cutting said material into predetermined lengths, comprising:

an upright mounting frame;

a cutter bar and bracket means supporting said bar upon said mounting frame, said bar having an elongated, upwardly facing and substantially horizontal cutting edge;

a pivot member including a pivot shaft supported upon said bracket means for pivotal movement of said pivot member around an axis spaced from and substantially parallel with said cutting edge, said pivot member including a guide plate movable with said pivot member between a substantially horizontal position between said shaft and said cutting edge and an inclined, raised position above said shaft;

support means on said mounting frame for holding the roll of sheet material below the pivot member for rotation around an axis substantially parallel with the first-mentioned axis, so that the sheet material can be threaded over said pivot shaft, across said guide plate and across said cutting edge;

counterbalance means on and movable with said pivot member for continuously urging same to pivot said guide plate into the inclined position, said counterbalance means including holding means pivotally supported upon said pivot member for releasably holding the sheet material against said pivot shaft and thereby opposing accidental movement of said sheet material toward the roll thereof and with respect to the pivot member.

2. An apparatus for supporting and for cutting a sheet of plastic film from a roll thereof into predetermined lengths of such material, comprising:

a mounting frame;

an elongated cutting bar having an upwardly facing, elongated cutting edge and bracket means supporting said cutting bar upon said mounting frame;

means connected to said mounting frame for supporting the roll of sheet material for rotation around an axis substantially parallel with said cutting edge;

a pivot shaft mounted upon said bracket means near to and substantially parallel with said cutting edge;

a pivot member including a pair of similar and substantially L-shaped elements mounted near the bend therein upon said pivot shaft near the opposite ends thereof, and a guide plate mounted upon and between said L-shaped elements on one side of, and substantially parallel with, said shaft, said pivot member being mounted upon said shaft for pivotal movement of said pivot member around the axis of said shaft;

stop means on said brackets for limiting movement of said pivot member between a lowered position, wherein said guide plate is substantially horizontal and is disposed between said shaft and said cutting edge, and a raised position wherein said guide plate is spaced upwardly from said shaft and inclined to the horizontal, such sheet material being threadable over said shaft and across said guide plate for engagement by said cutting edge; and

counterweight means connected to and movable with said pivot member and located substantially on the opposite side of said shaft from said guide plate, said counterweight means being arranged so that it continuously urges said pivot member to pivot said guide plate into its raised position, said counterweight means including plate means pivotally supported upon said pivot member and having an edge engageable with said shaft for urging said sheet material thereagainst whereby accidental movement of said sheet material with respect to said pivot shaft is positively opposed.

References tCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A STRUCTURE FOR SUPPORTING A ROLL OF SHEET MATERIAL AND FOR CUTTING SAID MATERIAL INTO PREDETERMINED LENGTHS, COMPRISING: AN UPRIGHT MOUNTING FRAME; A CUTTER BAR AND BRACKET MEANS SUPPORTING SAID BAR UPON SAID MOUNTING FRAME, SAID BAR HAVING AN ELONGATED, UPWARDLY FACING AND SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL CUTTING EDGE; A PIVOT MEMBER INCLUDING A PIVOT SHAFT SUPPORTED UPON SAID BRACKET MEANS FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID PIVOT MEMBER AROUND AN AXIS SPACED FROM AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL WITH SAID CUTTING EDGE, SAID PIVOT MEMBER INCLUDING A GUIDE PLATE MOVBALE WITH SAID PIVOT MEMBER BETWEEN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL POSITION BETWEEN SAID SHAFT AND SAID CUTTING EDGE AND AN INCLINED, RAISED POSITOON ABOVE SAID SHAFT; 